Improvement in means for propelling canal-boats



B. H. MUEHLE.

MEANS FOR PROPELLING CANAL sons Patented May 22,1877.

N, FEI'ERS. PHOTOUTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

which-- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD H. MUEHLE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MEANS FOR PROPELLING CANAL-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 190,975, dated May 22,1877 application filed September 26, 1876.

and useful Improvement in Propellers for.

Canal-Boats, which improvement is fully set forth in the followingspecification, referencm being had to the accompanying drawings, in

Figure I' is a side elevation of my improve- 2 ment, showing thecanal-boat. Fig. II is a? side elevation of the propelling-carriage on asection of rail. Fig. III is a transverse ver- 2 tical section of thesame. Figs. IV and V show a modification in the construction of thecarriage and rail, as hereinafter described.

The object of myinvention is to makesteampower available for propellingcanal-boats or vessels in the most economical and efficientmannerpossible. To accomplish this I deem it necessary to imitate asnear as possible the -present greatly-objectionable propelling-power-thehorse or other draft animal. In accordance with this idea I construct atow-path in the shape of a rail or rails, place thereon a truck orcarriage in lieu of the horses, and use an endless rope or chain insteadof, and operating the same as, a single tow-line, so that said endlessrope or chain acts in two capacities simultaneously: first, as aconveyer of power from a steam-engine or o'ther'motor on the canal-boatto 'be propelled; and, second, as a tow-line, without any other rigid,flexible, or adj ustableconnection between the independent carriage onthe rail or bank and the canal-boat or vessel beingrequired, therebypermitting the boat to be steered and managed with the same ease and ina manner similar to a canal-boat pulled" by horses. And right here Iwould state that my invention is not intended to accomplish more thanhorses can do; butI intend and claim that it willdo fully as much, andhence furnishes a complete and most economical substitute for thehorses.

In the accompanying drawings, A representsaportion of a canal-boat,(shown in longitudinal section,) and B one of the banks of thecan'al. (3represents asteam engine and boiler, which maybe located within the'bowor upon the deck of the boat, and furnishes the motive-power, ashereinafter described. D represents a two-headed or double T-rail, whichis secured to the edge, top, or side of the bank of the canal by meansof posts, piles, brackets, or other suitable devices, the point ofconnection being between the two heads or bearing-surfaces upon one sideof the shank of the rail, as shown in Figs. III and V. The

flat side or shank of the rail may be either vertical, horizontal, oroblique; but I have shown the same in the drawings in an obliqueposition.

Although I consider a double T-rail sufficiently strong for the purpose,and, of course, less expensive, I do not debar myself froni' using tworails instead of one, nor from adopting a sheathed or iron-shod plankfor the same purpose, as I consider them equivalents of the rail shownin the drawings.

Upon this rail D I place a truck or carriage, which is constructed asfollows: A frame is made of two parts, E E, both being hinged to themain shaft, which carries the flanged traction-wheel Fand spur-wheel F.The traction-wheel and spur-wheelare keyed together. The extreme ends ofthe sections of frame are provided with flanged guide-wheels g g, whichbear upon the surface of the rail opposite to that on which the tractionwheel travels. A spring, H, or its equivalent, serves to force thetraction-wheel F and guide-wheels g g in opposite directions, so as tocause the former to take hold of and press upon the rail, and by itsrevolutions around its axis move the carriage upon the rail. Adjustableguiderollers h k are placed upon the. frame opposite the wheels 9 g, orat any other suitable points, for the purpose of holding the carriagefirmly to the rail.

These guide-rollers may be hung in sliding boxes (see Fig. II) or uponthe ends of hinged arms, (see Fig. IV,) and so as to enable the boatmanto move them toward or trom the rail, and secure them at any desireddistance .from the guide-wheels g 9'. Thus, by moving ently upon therail, and does not require any other rigid, flexible, or adjustableconnection with the boat to be propelled.

By loosening the guide-rollers h h, the little carriage may be readilyremoved from the rail and laid on the deck of the vessel, or otherwisestored, until it may be required again for service.

I represents an arm orlever, whichis hinged to the main shaft, andcarries upon its extreme end a counter-shaft or fixed spindle in aposition parallel to the main shaft. A pinion, J, and a pulley orchain-wheel, J, are placed upon said spindle, the former gearing withthe spur-wheel F upon the main shaft in such manner that, as the pulleyis revolved, the rotary motion is conveyed through the gearing to thetraction-wheel F, and thereby the carriage moved along in eitherdirection desired. A friction-roller, it, upon the extreme end of thespindle, bears against the facerail, for the purpose of preventing thepulley and pinion from coming in contact with the frame of the carriage,and also for increasing the friction of the traction-wheel upon the railin proportion to the load to be drawn by the carriage.

This arm I is hinged to, and revolves upon, the axle of thetraction-wheel, so that it may be swung backward or forward of the same,while at the same time the spur-wheel remains in gear with the pinion,which is the prime mover of the carriage. Power is not applied to thetraction-wheel direct, but through the medium of multiplying-gearing insuch manner that sufiicient power is obtained to overcome the frictionof the wheels of the truck upon the rail. This is a most essentialfeature of my invention, as without the reduction of the speed of theprime mover, and the consequent gain of power applied to thetraction-wheel, my invention, as briefly explained above, would beinoperative and of no practical value. This arrangement of parts in apropelling-carriage, operated by an endless rope or chain, by means ofwhich power is gained through acorresponding reduction of speed, Ibelieve has never been applied to the various devices for propellingcanal-boats by steam, while it forms an important parts of my invention.

When two rails are used, instead of one double-headed one, theconstruction of the carriage will be modified accordingly, though themain parts will be the same, operating in the same manner; and thecarriage, in all its modifications, will always contain one or moretraction-wheels with spur-wheels attached, one or more pinions gearingwith the latter, and a pulley or chain wheel connected with the pinion.

In Figs. IV and V, I have shown a modification of the carriage, whichalso includes and necessitates a change in the construction of the rail,the latter being provided with cogs or transverse corrugations. In thiscase the traction-w heel has corresponding cogs or transversecorrugations, which gear with those upon the rail; consequently theframe E may be made in one piece and rigid. The essential parts of thecarriage, however, are the same as above described-a spur-wheel, F,attached to the traction-wheel upon the main shaft, a pinion, J, andpulley J on a countershaft, flanged wheels g g, and adjustableguide-rollers h h.

In order to make this carriage reversible the arm I may also be added,as a connection between the axle of the traction and spur wheel andthat-of the pinion and pulley, and operate as above described.

L represents an endless rope or chain, by means of which the carriage ispropelled. It passes over the pulley or chain wheel J, and also over adriving-pulley or chain-wheel, m, upon the canal-boat to be propelled.Power being applied to the pulley m by means of the steam-engine O orother prime mover the rotary motion of this pulley is communicated tothe pulley J on the carriage, through the endless rope or chain, andhence the carriage is moved along upon the rail and draws the canal-boatafter it, the endless rope or chain thus acting as a conveyer of powerand motion, and as a tow-line simultaneously.

The operation of my improved apparatus is as follows: The carriage isfirst placed upon the rail and secured by means of the adjustableguide-rollers h h, as hereinbefore described, the rope or chain beingproperly passed over the pulleys J and m then the engine is started, thepulleys revolved, and the rope or chain drawn from the carriage to theboat, so as to start and move the carriage is a direction opposite tothat in which the rope is pulledi. e., from the boat-the latterremaining stationary for the present. As the carriage moves away theloose portion of the endless rope or chain, which may be coiled up onthe deck of the boat, will be payed out until the rope or chainthroughout its entire length becomes taut; then the same assumes thecharater of a tow-line, in addition to that of conveyer of power andmotion, and it draws the boat after the moving carriage. When it isdesired to stop the motion of the canal-boat the pulley m, by means ofclutch arrangement. or otherwise, is disconnected from the revolvingdriving-shaft of the engine, and thereby the carriage is stopped thesame as horses are stopped now. By reason of its momentum the boat willapproach the place where the carriage is at rest, and may be stopped orsnubbed in the usual manner.

The most important advantage which my improvement possesses over otherdevices for propelling canal-boats which take hold of a fixed rail orthe bank of the canal consists in that my connection between thecarriage and the boat is flexible, and may be made as long as a commontow-line, and thus permit the boat to be steered as readily as it cannow be done, clearing passing boats and such as may be lying against thebank or dock, or obstructions of any kind, as easily as the same can nowbe done where canal'boats are propelled by animals with a commontow-line.

I claim as my invention- 1. The tow-line L, consisting of an endlessrope or chain, by means of which power is communicated from asteam-engine or other motor on the canal-boat to be propelled to a truckor carriage on a rail or rails, through the medium of a train ofmultiplying-gearing upon said carriage, substantially as and for thepurpose herein described.

2. A truck or carriage, moving upon a rail or rails, and having atraction-wheel, F, and spur-wheel F on a main shaft, and the pinion Jand pulley J on a counter-shaft, power being applied to said pulley J bymeans of the BERNARD H. MUEHLE.

Witnesses:

J. F. ERNST, Jr., W. K. PRovos'r.

